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The American Man with a Vietnamese Heart: Turning Marine Waste into Gold

20 August, 2024

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John Wallace, CEO of Rapexco – Dai Nam Co., Ltd. (Rapexco), is an American with a silent yet strong opposition to the Vietnam War, a sentiment shared by his enthusiastic anti-war mother.

A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University in Business Administration with the title of “Honor Student”, John, as he is affectionately known, joined an American corporation based in the island nation of Singapore. During a trip to South Vietnam in the fierce summer of 1973, John witnessed the intense warfare first-hand.

It wasn’t until Vietnam gained international recognition for its open-door policy and reforms that businessman John Wallace decided to fly back, this time in search of opportunities. Vietnam had always held a special place in his heart, influenced by his mother’s strong convictions.

TURNING WASTE AND SEAGRASS INTO GOLD

“Oh, what a waste!” exclaimed John on his return to Vietnam in the fall of 1991, referring to the floating water hyacinths, rampant seagrass, discarded banana tree trunks, rampant jungle vines, bamboo, and natural acacia that were being neglected by the locals in the poetic coastal city of Nha Trang.

Entrepreneur John Wallace, with an American heart that now beats for Vietnam.

During this season, the slow-moving waters carry layers of water hyacinths, only to be removed and left to wither in the sun. Seagrass faces a similar fate, either narrowing the waterways or being cut down and piled up on the shores. As for banana tree trunks, they are ubiquitous in this region.

Along the curving central coastal strip from Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province to Phu Yen, the forest edges are engulfed by rampant vines. “The environment here is too polluted! We must find a way to ‘clear the waterways’ and ‘clean up the forest edges’ while protecting nature and making money. Money is right here!” John exclaimed with a newfound passion. This marked a turning point in John’s life, as the man who loved his mother more than himself decided to put down roots in this new and aspiring land.

In the same year, through a Hong Kong enterprise, John Wallace established a small manufacturing workshop for exporting rattan furniture. The workshop served as a hub for purchasing river hyacinths, rattan, wood, and acacia shells, bamboo, and other materials from locals in Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces. These materials were then processed and crafted into environmentally friendly furniture for export. While Vietnamese consumers were not yet enthusiastic about these simple and eco-friendly products, John had already secured a major partner in Europe: the IKÉA group, which became their primary buyer from the outset. IKÉA is the world’s largest retailer of environmentally friendly furniture, ensuring FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) standards for traceability.

In 1997, Rapexco – Dai Nam Co., Ltd. (Rapexco) was officially established and began its operations, replacing the initial small workshop. Its headquarters are located in Binh Tan Industrial Park, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province.

SHAPING BUSINESS AND BRAND IDENTITY

Uniting the local people, including the unemployed, young people with too much time on their hands, and farmers who toiled endlessly in the fields, and training them was no easy feat, especially when everything was still so new. However, John found excitement in these challenges.

Turning drifting water hyacinths, trash, and seagrass into “gold” and exporting them worldwide.

John returned to the Philippines and then turned to Indonesia to select the most skilled workers who had once worked with him. He brought them to Rapexco Khanh Hoa to train the new Vietnamese workers. Through this process, the “barefoot” farmers became skilled artisans and an integral part of the “John Family – Rapexco Family.”

For John Wallace, there are no employees or hired workers; there is only family and loved ones. John considers Vietnam and Khanh Hoa as his second homeland. He returned to the Philippines to bring his family to Vietnam to work with him, and he brought his American mother’s ashes to her final resting place in his newfound homeland.

With expertise in processing and manufacturing high-end furniture for export using rattan, bamboo, acacia, water hyacinths, iron, and plastic, Rapexco has become the leading enterprise in exporting high-end furniture in the country, contributing the highest revenue and taxes in Khanh Hoa province.

Rapexco owns and operates three facilities: a 6-hectare showroom and company headquarters in Binh Tan Industrial Park (Nha Trang city); a 12-hectare factory producing rattan blinds and furniture in Suoi Dau Industrial Park (Cam Lam district); and a 35-hectare factory manufacturing high-end furniture for export in Hoa Hiep Industrial Park (Dong Hoa district, Phu Yen province).

Rapexco’s products are not only durable and meet IKÉA and FSC standards but also boast beautiful designs and rich, attractive, and intricate patterns that captivate users with their sophistication. They are highly regarded by IKÉA customers and the demanding North American market.

Starting with just 40 workers, Rapexco has grown into a leading employer in South-Central Vietnam, now with 25,000 employees. However, the question remains: how can we ensure product quality while diversifying designs and increasing sophistication, reducing manual labor, and increasing brainpower?

The current trend is to introduce machinery to replace manual labor in some stages, allowing for mass production and consistent quality and design. The workers in these replaced stages are retrained as technicians to operate the machinery, from basic, simple machine tools to advanced CNC machines programmed with the entire operating process. As a result, the products become more intricate and exquisite, gaining even more popularity among European and North American customers.

Beyond selling end products, customers can also act as “secondary” designers, proposing ideas and directly developing designs from existing templates. John and Rapexco then take on the role of “processors,” meticulously crafting each product according to the customer’s unique requirements.

Indoor and outdoor furniture made from rattan, bamboo, and water hyacinths to FSC standards, highly favored by the North European and North American markets.

Over 30 years of operation, Rapexco has designed and manufactured nearly 3,000 models of household furniture, hotel, restaurant, and cafe furnishings, and exquisite and eco-friendly home decor, serving both the domestic and export markets. However, their primary focus is on exports to Europe and North America.

To date, over 50,000 containers of goods have been shipped, generating over $500 million in revenue. Notably, during the 2019-2022 COVID-19 pandemic, Rapexco consistently produced and exported 10,000 containers, with 80% of the orders coming from strategic customers, achieving a turnover of $162 million and contributing $12 million in taxes over three years.

AN AMERICAN HEART NOW BEATS FOR VIETNAM

John may never have explicitly stated, “I love Vietnam!” to those he encountered, but his actions and sentiments have long belonged to this country.

“You’re not going back to the US, are you? Why did you bring your mother to Vietnam?” I interrupted John’s train of thought as we sat face to face in the modest 12-square-meter office of a foreign CEO, a space as simple and unassuming as its owner.

“I’m staying here because this is my homeland. My mother loved Vietnam very much, and I know she wanted this: to dedicate everything she had to Vietnam,” John replied, his voice steady, slow, and measured, softening as he caught the glimmer of surprise in my eyes.

Visitors can sense the purity of the air in this wood and wood powder processing workshop, ensuring Net Zero standards for IKÉA and the North European market.

John is nurturing and gradually implementing his vision of building a talent training center for young people to develop software production technology right here in the pioneering land of Rapexco in Binh Tan Industrial Park, which now houses the showroom. A bright future awaits the talented youth of Central Vietnam and the South-Central Coast, as the potential it holds is immense. John recognizes the innate refinement and dexterity of Vietnamese youth, coupled with their diligence.

In over 30 years of doing business in this region, John has never considered himself a pure businessman or entrepreneur. John is simply John to many Vietnamese. In all this time, he has invested only his own money, without borrowing or seeking capital contributions. He has reinvested the profits into creativity and machinery purchases and set aside funds for educational projects to support startups for young people along the “steel backbone” of the country, not just in Khanh Hoa.

“I want young people to work and build their careers in the very place they were born and raised, benefiting themselves, their families, and their communities, and contributing to societal advancement without having to leave their homeland behind. I am willing to do everything and dedicate this endeavor to Vietnam,” John shared, leaving me in awe and providing an answer to the questions: “Why does he think of the youth? Why does he want to stay in Vietnam?”